interested in hearing from all you all on this. I've stayed 'true' to the traditional rod guide sizes. never had a desire to chase the micro guides; the latest, greatest stuff.
those of you who fish micro guides and believe in them, have you switched all your rods to them?
I have some Dobyns Savvy and Sierra micro guides as well as Lee Smith Customs and overall I'm a fan of micro guides. I wouldn't have anything but on my spiral wrapped rods. I don't have any of the issues with braid wrapping around them that I hear some folks talk about and I truly believe they add to sensitivity. Bottom contact, finesse, soft plastics all work better for me with micro guides. I do however leave those micro guides and that braid at home when fishing cold Winter mornings. Even without braid, they can ice up quick.
Don't like micro guides and never have. I did try them on a bait caster, and returned it the next day, for standard guides. Old school I guess!
I do own a couple of micro guide rods. One rod is a wright Mcgill and the other is a Lee Smith spiral wrap. The Lee Smith is my most favorite of all my rods and presently I have not used the skeet reese rod for a year or two.
Can't say that the micro guides provide any extra performance in feel or casting distance. The only problem I ever had was on the Lee Smith rod with a Lews BB1 reel. The angle from the reel to the first guide was very steep and appeared to be causing a slight bind in the line creating a fair amount of backlashes. I then changed reels to Daiwa SVTW103 models and the problem of the backlash went away. Further examination reveals that the Lews reel just sit a bit higher on the rod then the Daiwa and I guess that was enough to cause the problem. FYI the Lee Smith rod guides are really really small as compared to the wright mcgill.
Even though my most favorite rod is microguide/spiral wrap I still have an overall preference for my Dobyns rods using standard guide configurations. I currently don't use leaders but if I wanted to I would not be able to use microguides. I realize I am not the most skilled angler in the world and likely am not savy enough to evaluate the true differences or describe advantages or dis-advantages. All I know is that for the most part the standard guides get the job done without having to perform an eye test to re spool through the microguides. It is hell only having one working eye. LOL
It's a deal, those that like them really like them. Those that don't really don't. I'm rare in that I can take them or leave them. Winter is tough, and spring with the cotton see is free flowing also binds them up a bit.
The pro's to them that anglers really like are that they have less line slap which generates a longer cast, then of course the sensitivity that you've read about. These are opinion of course, sound in theory.
I own rods with both. The biggest difference I found was that back when I was using leaders the micro guides did not play nice with the knot. The other drawback was when using the mesh style rod socks. Micro guides seem to find their way through the mesh really easily. And it's a PITA trying to get them back through sometimes without tearing up the rod sock in the process.
I'm with Mike, I believe the theory is sound, and I think they are here to stay in one form or another.
The size that Duckett use's (macro's? ) look odd to me but he sells them.
When I look at my old All-star TWS it looks like it has a stripper guide from a spinning rod on it compared to the newer stuff.
I've never tried the micro guides because I use leaders too much and can see knots banging on guides as being a problem.
I might look into them for a specialized rod that I wouldn't think about putting a leader on, maybe something like a popping cork rod or something like that with mono or copoly line spooled on.
I've given micro guides a try when they became popular. I ended up selling all my micro guides rods. I never saw an advantage.
I don't think I know anyone who still fishes with micro guides any longer come to think of it.
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2 of my frogging rods have micro guides. I really like them. I find I cast with them a lot more accurately.